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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Jun 8, 2015; 7(10): 1377-1389
Published online Jun 8, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i10.1377
Hepatitis C virus: Virology, diagnosis and treatment
Hui-Chun Li, Shih-Yen Lo
Hui-Chun Li, Department of Biochemistry, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
Shih-Yen Lo, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
Shih-Yen Lo, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
Author contributions: Li HC and Lo SY wrote the paper.
Supported by Grants from the National Science Council of Taiwan, No. NSC 101-2320-B-320-011-MY3 (Dr. Shih-Yen Lo); and from the Tzu Chi University to Dr. Shih-Yen Lo, No. TCIRP 103002-03; and to Dr. Hui-Chun Li, No. TCIRP 103002-02.
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare no conflicting interests (including but not limited to commercial, personal, political, intellectual, or religious interests) in this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Shih-Yen Lo, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, 701, Section 3, Chung Yang Road, Hualien 97004, Taiwan. losylo@mail.tcu.edu.tw
Telephone: +886-3-8565301 Fax: +886-3-8571917
Received: August 28, 2014
Peer-review started: August 28, 2014
First decision: December 17, 2014
Revised: December 22, 2014
Accepted: March 30, 2015
Article in press: April 2, 2015
Published online: June 8, 2015
Processing time: 278 Days and 19.4 Hours
Abstract

More than twenty years of study has provided a better understanding of hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle, including the general properties of viral RNA and proteins. This effort facilitates the development of sensitive diagnostic tools and effective antiviral treatments. At present, serologic screening test is recommended to perform on individuals in the high risk groups and nucleic acid tests are recommended to confirm the active HCV infections. Quantization and genotyping of HCV RNAs are important to determine the optimal duration of anti-viral therapy and predict the likelihood of response. In the early 2000s, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin became the standard anti-HCV treatment. However, this therapy is not ideal. To 2014, boceprevir, telaprevir, simeprevir, sofosbuvir and Harvoni are approved by Food and Drug Administration for the treat of HCV infections. It is likely that the new all-oral, interferon-free, pan-genotyping anti-HCV therapy will be available within the next few years. Majority of HCV infections will be cured by these anti-viral treatments. However, not all patients are expected to be cured due to viral resistance and the high cost of antiviral treatments. Thus, an efficient prophylactic vaccine will be the next challenge in the fight against HCV infection.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Diagnosis; Treatment; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Nucleic acid test; Enzyme immunoassay; Interferon; Direct acting antivirals; Host-targeted agents; Sofosbuvir

Core tip: Understanding the general properties of hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral RNA and proteins facilitates the development of sensitive diagnostic tools and effective antiviral treatments. At present, serologic screening test is recommended to perform on individuals in the high risk groups and nucleic acid tests are recommended to confirm the active HCV infections. To 2014, in addition to pegylated interferon and ribavirin, boceprevir, telaprevir, simeprevir, sofosbuvir and Harvoni are approved by Food and Drug Administration to treat HCV infections. The majority of HCV infections can be cured by these anti-viral treatments. An efficient prophylactic vaccine will be the next challenge in the fight against HCV infection.